Enhanced shopping and merchandising methodology

ABSTRACT

An enhanced shopping system for facilitating grocery shopping and in-store advertising is disclosed. The system utilizes uniquely changes (1) the way grocery retail industry captures and retains customers, (2) how customers organize their shopping efforts in grocery stores, (3) the approach to advertising and reaching customers, and (4) the information available to retailers and merchandisers related to customer (a) shopping patterns, (b) responses to merchandising and advertising, and (c) specific impact of discounting/coupons.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application No.12/837,825, filed Jul. 16, 2010 now abandoned, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application No. 12/701,849, filed Feb. 8, 2010 now U.S.Pat. No. 7,873,547, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationNo. 12/357,519, filed Jan. 22, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,689,473, which,in turn, claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/037,820, filed Mar. 19, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an enhanced merchandising methodologyfor use in grocery and other retail applications.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Grocery stores, as well as other retail markets, are constantly tryingto make shopping easier. Bar codes, for example, as illustrated in FIG.3, are known to be placed on individual retail items and grocery items.Such bar codes enable retail items to be quickly identified by way of abar code scanner for items being purchased by a consumer, as illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2.

Consumers are also known to use bar code scanners to scan empty grocerycontainers at home as the products are consumed to create a shoppinglist. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,614 discloses a method andapparatus for computer-aided shopping system for assisting a consumerwith shopping. The '614 patent discloses a system in which a consumerutilizes portable bar code scanner 10 having a removable electronicmemory, i.e. smart card 132, to scan bar coded items at home after theitem has been consumed. In that system, the consumer thereafter removesthe smart card 132 from the scanner 10, proceeds to a retail store, andthen interfaces smart card 132 with a dedicated terminal 130 in theretail store, wherein the terminal 130 reads data from smart card 132and then compiles a printed shopping list 60 for the consumer. Theshopping list 60 may include quantity, location, and price and arrangethe items to provide the customer with a preferred route through thestore when picking items.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,017 discloses a system and a method for householdgrocery management. The system includes a bar code scanner 22 operableto scan bar codes on grocery items at a consumer's home. Bar codes onfood items that are consumed are also scanned. As such, the systemdisclosed in the '017 patent is able to maintain a current inventory ofhousehold groceries and generate a replenishment list when the inventoryof various food items on the list drops below a predetermined value. Thesystem is connected to a grocery clearing house for electronicallytransmitting the replenishment list to a grocery store by way of theclearing house.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,171,378 discloses a portable electronic terminal anddata processing system which includes a portable terminal 40 for usewith a personal shopping system 10 in both a user's home 12 and shoppingestablishment 14. The portable terminal 40 includes a bar code readerfor reading bar codes associated with various goods. The data associatedwith the bar codes is stored in a memory 46 in the portable terminal 40.In order to place an order for the items scanned by the bar code reader,the bar code related data may be transferred from the portable terminal40 to a host computer 16 or downloaded to an in-store kiosk portableterminal-receiving station

U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,766 discloses a multi-interface compact personaltoken apparatus which includes a compact personal token apparatus (e.g.,standard USB memory stick device) which may be utilized at a consumer'shome to store downloaded coupons, wherein the coupons may be redeemedwhen plugged into a participating grocery store or retail merchantpoint-of-sale (POS) device, e.g. cash register, kiosk etc.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0027164 A1 discloses a systemwhich includes a portable computing apparatus for use in a weightmanagement program. The system includes a portable computing apparatus,such as a personal digital assistant (PDA 10), for aiding a user inmonitoring the consumption of consumable items and in reordering theitems. The PDA 10 includes barcode reader 13 for inputting informationidentifying various items as they are consumed by the user. The PDA 10may be utilized to prepare a printed shopping list for the person, toshow a list using a display, to display a map of the store showing thelocation of the items ordered, to display a list of items in an orderrelated to the order that they will be encountered in the store, tocheck off items as they are purchased, and to suggest productalternatives on demand. Additionally, the PDA 10 may incorporate aremovable memory for transferring consumable item data to anotherpersonal computer.

US Patent Application Publication No 2002/087415 A1 discloses a methodand a system for on-line shopping utilizing a personalized shopping listand an electronic network. The method is for ordering items found in aperson's home, wherein a personal scanning device is utilized to scanbar coded items to create a shopping list which may be transmitted to aremote location for processing and delivery of the items found on thelist.

US Patent Application Publication No 2004/0128210 A1 discloses amarketing information system for remote computing platforms. The systemis for managing a consumer's shopping list and for interfacing that listwith a retailer's computing system prior to beginning a shopping trip,wherein hand-held computing devices 34 and 35 may be equipped with abarcode scanner for scanning universal product codes (“UPC”) on productsthat a user may like to add to their shopping list. The hand-heldcomputing devices 34 and 35 are configured to be interfaced with theretailer's system to allow the items in the consumer's list to beorganized according to how the consumer would encounter them in retailstore environment 186, e.g., aisle number and/or shelf location.Additionally hand-held computing devices 34 and 35 may incorporate flashmemory 68 to store the consumer's inventory.

US Patent Application Publication No 2006/0047577 A1 discloses a systemand a method for preparing an electronic shopping list and a paththrough the store. The system matches a customer's shopping list withthe order that items are found in a store to optimize the customer'sshopping experience.

The use of bar code scanners by consumers for use with grocery items iswell known in the art. For example, a trade publication entitled:“CS1504 Handheld Barcode Scanner”,http://www.symbol.com/products/bar-code-scanner/general/cs1504;discloses a consumer memory scanner which can be used to scan bar codeson items that can be used with an Internet/Intranet store kiosk. Anothertrade publication entitled; ““iGrocer-A Ubiquitous and Pervasive SmartGrocery Shopping System”, by Shekar et al, SAC 2003, Mar. 9-12, 2003,Melbourne, Fla.,http://www.icta.ufl.edu/projects/publications/HELAL-igrocer.pdf,discloses a smart phone with a bar code scanner. Another tradepublication entitled; “Intelliscanner™ Kitchen Companion”,http://intelliscanner.com/products/kitchen/index.html, discloses aportable bar code scanner for home use for scanning bar codes on retailproducts at home and creating a shopping list.

Another trade publication entitled; “Symbol Technologies CS 2000 MemoryScanner Endorsed For Use By Leading Web Grocery Companies”,http://www.symbol.com/assets/tools/print.html, discloses a portable barcode scanner for use in creating a grocery list. The systems describedabove are not in wide spread use because of the lack of incentive forgrocers and retailers to implement the system. More specifically, thesystems described above are simply used to collect, compile, and composeconsumer shopping lists. In order to implement such systems, severalelements must be put in place—(i) data collection hardware and software,such as barcode scanning equipment at the consumer's site would need tobe provided for each consumer; (ii) web portals or a dedicated in-storeterminal at the grocery or retail store for processing, compilation, andprinting would need to be established; (iii) a database of availablegrocery or retail items would need to be stored and accessible by theterminal would need to be built, maintained and continuously updated asgrocery or retail items are added or dropped from the store's availablemerchandise to facilitate the process and, for those systems whichprovide locations for grocery or retail items on a shopping list,updated every time any grocery or retail items changed locations or werelocated or relocated to a free standing point of sale display; and (iv)other elements of cost such as customer support.

Unfortunately, such systems require a significant and continuousinvestment in overhead while providing little or no value or incentiveto the grocer or retailer or the food item vendors. As such, the systemsdisclosed above are not in widespread use. Consequently, consumers mustcontinue to shop in the conventional and cumbersome manner even thoughtechnology is obviously available that would greatly facilitateshopping. Thus, there is a need to provide incentive to grocers andretailers to adopt such systems in order facilitate consumer shopping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for facilitating grocery orretail shopping for consumers while providing incentive to grocers andretailers to provide the system. The system includes a portable scannerwith a memory device, such as a portable memory device. In oneembodiment, the system may include an in-store terminal, for example,configured as a standalone terminal or a part of computer network. Thein-store terminal is used to receive the information from the memorydevice and print out the shopping list. In an alternative embodiment,the application may be web-based obviating the need for an in-storeterminal. In the web-based application, the shopping list may be printedfrom any terminal connected to the Internet. From a shopper'sperspective, groceries to be purchased are scanned at home after theitems are consumed to form a shopping list that facilitates shopping. Inessence, the system is a replacement of the traditional hand written“shopping list” used by many consumers. In accordance with an importantaspect of the invention from a grocery or retailers perspective, thesystem provides incentives to grocers and retailers to implement thesystem by way virtual merchandising which can be sold to productmanufacturers to provide additional income to such grocers andretailers. These additional sources of income provide the incentives forgrocers and retailers to implement and maintain the system. Since eachitem on the consumer's list is uniquely identified, the retailer canprovide manufacturers with product specific “virtual merchandising”opportunities which may include (i) “protecting” a manufacturer'sproduct on the shopping list by displaying the specific brand of productconsumed and/or displaying brand logos, thereby providing “virtual shelfspace”, increasing the shopper's brand awareness, and increasing theprobability that a consumer repeats the purchase of the consumedproduct, (ii) allowing a manufacturer to provide substitutes and couponsfor a product that can be substituted for the consumed item, if theconsumed item was not “protected” by that product's manufacturer (i.eproducts for which no virtual shelf space has been purchased); (iii)allowing a manufacturer to add suggested products (specific & branded)to a consumer's list in an effort to pull through complementary productsales, and/or (iv) tracking consumer purchasing patterns and suggestingwhen a product might have been left off of the list. For example, if theconsumer purchases buns with hot dogs and the list includes hot dogs butno buns, the system can prompt the customer with respect to hot dogbuns. As such, the virtual merchandising generates income opportunitiesin the form of advertising and shelf space revenues, additional salesopportunities, and customer retention to grocers and retailers whichwill provide incentives to them to put the necessary elements in placeto drive such a system into everyday use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

These and other advantages of the present invention will be readilyunderstood with reference to the following specification and attacheddrawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is simplified diagram illustrating the basic operation of ascanner, in which the scanner scans the barcode and picks up the signalsfrom the different lengths of the barcode, unique product code, or UPC.This data is then sent to a computer (either on-line or at the grocerystore) where it is processed against various databases, linked bytogether by the unique UPC. This processing covers ordering the list byaisle, performing the various virtual merchandising algorithms, andcompiling the users shopping list. This information is then turned fromtraditional data format into a language that is easily readable byhumans. Next, the information is printed on hard copy, or in alternateform displayed on a portable device, which will allow for a quick andeasy shopping trip.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of an aisle in a supermarket in whichdifferent foods of the similar type are normally located in the sameaisles to make it easier for customers to locate.

FIG. 3 illustrates various types of known bar codes.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary record layout of the product specificinformation that would make up the global product information databasethat could be maintained centrally for all products or could bemaintained by each retailer.

FIGS. 5A-5C represent a data flow diagram of the system in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 5D is a flow chart illustrating the logic associated withimplementing the brand display virtual merchandising option.

FIG. 5E is a flow chart illustrating the logic associated withdetermining whether or not a manufacturer has purchased rights for rank.

FIG. 5F is a flow chart illustrating the brand incentive virtualmerchandising option.

FIG. 5G is a flow chart for displaying generic product details ofscanned items by a consumer.

FIG. 5H is a flow chart for displaying complete product details ofscanned items by a consumer.

FIG. 5I is a flow chart illustrating the aisle assignment of an item onthe shopping list item on the grocery list in step 103.

FIG. 5J is a flow chart for a duplicate item filter that checks forduplicate items on the shopping list.

FIGS. 6-9 illustrate exemplary flow charts for the invention.

FIG. 10A illustrates an exemplary shopping list which illustratesvirtual merchandising in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a table explaining how each item in the shopping listillustrated in FIG. 10A would have flowed through the process inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 11-16 illustrate exemplary dialog screens for composing a shoppinglist in an interactive mode.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary web page that represents all of thecategories of available food items available in a particular store.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary drop down list for one category of fooditems in FIG. 17, namely “dairy”

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an enhanced shopping system and methodwhich utilizes technology and information in a manner which uniquelychanges (1) the way grocery retail industry captures and retainscustomers, (2) how customers organize their shopping efforts in grocerystores, (3) the approach to advertising and reaching customers, and (4)the information available to retailers and merchandisers related tocustomer (a) shopping patterns, (b) responses to merchandising andadvertising, and (c) specific impact of discounting/coupons. Even thoughthe application focuses on the grocery retail industry, the concepts areequally applicable to any retail segment where consumable goods areinvolved (e.g. also applicable to small business office supply segment).

This system and method will create a new type of program for the home.In particular, in one embodiment, the system enables groceries to bescanned after use and stored on a portable memory device, such as aflash drive, smart card or directly within a small, portable scannerwith memory and data ports. In that embodiment of the invention, theportable memory device is brought to the supermarket like a virtualshopping list. An in-store terminal may be provided that is configuredto receive the portable memory device. The in-store terminal checks theinventory of the items on the shopping list and also adds the locationof the items on the grocery list within the store. In an enhancedversion of the system, at least one virtual merchandising logic elementis added to the list. The in-store terminal then prints out a shoppinglist for the consumer as illustrated, for example, on FIG. 10A. Thescanner and memory can be incorporated into off the shelf devices, suchas a cell phone or PDA, which would make the concept even moreubiquitous.

Two embodiments of the system are contemplated from a consumer's side.Both embodiments may include a portable scanner and a memory device. Ina first embodiment, an in-store terminal is provided. The in-storeterminal is configured to receive the data from the memory device. Inthis embodiment, a database is either resident in the in-store terminalor the database is resident on another server or computer and incommunication with the in-store terminal by way of a communication link.In a second embodiment of the invention, the system is web based anddoes not require an in-store terminal. In the second embodiment, thedata from the memory device associated with the scanner is downloadeddirectly to a remote server which processes the data and enables ashopper to download and print a shopping list directly from theircomputer. An alternate embodiment of the invention is disclosed from thestandpoint of the manufacturer or retailer which provides optionalvirtual merchandising.

In embodiments that include an in-store terminal, the in-store terminalincludes data on all items available in the store. The data on the typesof food may also include brand data. For example, as will be discussedin more detail below, an entry for potato chips may include dataregarding multiple brands, such as Lays and Doritos. For perishableitems, such as, fresh meat, cheese, and fish, a different format isused. For example, such perishable items may be included by category,such as Meat, cheese, fish, baked goods, etc. These perishable fooditems may be further broken down into sub-categories. Using meat as anexample, the sub-categories include the type of meat, e.g. turkey; thebrand; and the amount, for example, in pounds.

In order to provide an incentive for grocers and retailers to implementthe system, the customers, the retailers, and the manufacturers mustgain value from it. The customers perceive value through an enhanced andmore efficient shopping experience. The retailers gain value through“stickier”, i.e more loyal, customers, increased sales, and additionalmerchandising and advertising revenues. The manufacturers will gainvalue through more targeted marketing and advertising and increasedvisibility through “virtual” merchandising (virtual shelf space—productprotection and/or brand display; switching incentives; product linkage,and consumption patterns). Given these attributes, the concept, inaddition to being a new approach, can be implemented without significanttechnological barriers.

VALUE TO THE CUSTOMER

As the hardware cost associated with hand held scanners has fallen, theavailability of significant amounts of memory has increase, and the techsavvy of the average consumer has risen, the ability to move to a newtype of replenishable shopping process has become realizable. Followingis a description of the process from the customer's point of view.

Goods Capture Process:

From a consumer's standpoint, the initial objective is to establish aprocess where consumers utilize existing scanning technology to create“shopping lists” of grocery items. Consumers capture a record of theproducts they consume and generate a replenishment listing usingexisting scanning technology and scanning software, such as distributedby Intelliscanner Corp., has reached a point where the cost to produceconsumer level scanners and capture consumer data is affordable and suchtechnology can be distributed to consumers to assist in thereplenishment process associated with consumables (e.g. groceries).

In addition, shopping lists could be generated by linking product UPCsor SKUs to recipe cards and, by scanning a given recipe card, a shoppinglist could be generated. This concept is not discussed in this paper,but it is conceivable that manufacturers might purchase rights to linkto recipes and thereby increase sales.

Aisle Aligned Shopping List:

Then, by matching the “shopping lists” with store product layouts, an“aisle aligned shopping list” may be generated. This process will makethe consumer's shopping experience much more user friendly by replacinghand written shopping lists that are generally written in consumptionorder with printed shopping lists that are organized in the order theproducts are arranged throughout the store. With the evolution oftechnology and the rapidly falling price of computer hardware, thisconcept can be implemented on an electronic tablet interface that theconsumer can utilize throughout the store, making the experience muchmore interactive.

This matching of shopping list items to store layouts can be done usingdata gathered during a retailer's inventory or store mapping process,during which UPC/SKU locations would be accumulated. This data isavailable today for some retailers but is not utilized in this manner asthe consumer does not accumulate his/her shopping list by UPC/SKU.

These initial steps will make use of the process valuable to theconsumer and ensure use by the consumer. It also has value to theretailer, discussed below.

Value to the Retailer:

The second objective is to leverage the above in such a manner so thatstores and manufacturers can present opportunities to the consumer on anextremely targeted basis. This targeting will generate revenue for thestore and will more effectively use the manufacturers' advertising andmerchandising expenditures by targeting the point of use. This conceptbreaks into four basic elements of value, all under the concept ofVirtual Merchandising—Virtual Shelf Space (Product Protection and BrandDisplay), Switching Incentives, Consumption Patterns Additions, the useof Product Linkages, and Information Capture.

“Virtual Merchandising (Shelf Space)—Product Protection”

Manufacturers typically purchase the rights to physical shelf space,generating revenue for retailers. Using this concept, retailers will beable to sell additional “virtual shelf space” to manufacturers. As aresult, the retailer will be able to expand a manufacturer's shelf spaceby selling “virtual product protection” to the manufacturer. If a givenmanufacturer purchases “virtual product protection” for its product orproduct category, any time a consumer has consumed the “protected”product, the detailed product will be displayed on the consumer'sshopping list and no alternatives will be displayed. This is theequivalent of expanding the manufacturer's shelf space to exclude allother options, increases the visibility to and probability ofreplenishments by the consumer.

For example, if the Coca Cola Bottling Company purchased “virtualproduct protection” for its cola products and a consumer has Diet Coke®on their shopping list, Diet Coke® (and the brand image if purchased),would be displayed. What is displayed and the amount charged for this isalmost limitless in the combinations. The Coca Cola Bottling Company mayalso purchase the right to display any discounts associated with thisproduct to further enhance the “virtual product protection”, anotherenhancement that can be sold to increase the probability ofreplenishment, the success ratio of which can be measured and correlatedto the associated discount amounts.

“Virtual Merchandising (Shelf Space)—Brand Display”

The system also allows a manufacturer to have the ability to purchasethe right to have its brand logo displayed on the customer's shoppinglist, virtually expanding its shelf space and the interaction of itsbrand with the consumer, thereby increasing the “stickiness” of theproduct on the list (in other words, lowering the propensity for acustomer to select another brand) and increasing the consumer's brandawareness.

This brand display option will be linked as a second step in the productprotection module and will also be picked up in the product linkageportion section as all of the product linkage options will be “protectedproducts” (e.g. why would a manufacture pay for a product to be linkedand then have a competitor's product be displayed).

“Virtual Merchandising—Switching Incentives”

For products that are on the consumer's shopping list and for whichProduct Protection has not been purchased, other manufacturers that havepurchased “virtual merchandising—switching incentives” would have anopportunity to present specials and discounts associated with theirproducts that are substitutes for the unprotected product. If noswitching incentives have been purchased, just a generic description isdisplayed.

For example, if the RC Cola Company had not purchased “virtual productprotection” and the consumer has RC Cola® on their shopping list, theshopping list will display “Diet Cola” (no brand or image) and theselected manufacturer's alternate product coupons, specials, rebates,discounts and/or the manufacturer's brand logo will be displayedalongside the generic shopping list item to incentivize the consumer toswitch brands.

A ranking algorithm may be implemented to allow rotation ofmanufacturers or, in the case of an interactive, on-line process, wouldallocate different amounts of space or assign different positioning ofads on the screen depending on what was purchased. For example, aranking algorithm may be set up in terms of “occurrence slots. Anoccurrence slot may be defined as an unprotected item on a shopping listthat is therefore subject to “switching”, as discussed above. Theoccurrence slots may be sequentially based. For example, a subscriptionof time based slots could be offered for sale for a particular period oftime, for example, one (1) year. The slots, for example, could be basedupon the sequential occurrences of the unprotected item over thesubscription period on a rotating basis. The number, price and length ofthe subscription periods of the occurrence slots may be set by thestore.

The use of a ranking algorithm allows multiple manufacturers to purchasethe switching rights for the same individual, groups or categories ofunprotected items. For example, assume that two soda manufacturers,identified as Manufacturer A and Manufacturer B, want to purchaseswitching rights for all unprotected soda. Also assume that the storesets up and sells four (4) “occurrence slots” for switching unprotectedsoda to manufacturers that purchase product switching rights. Furtherassuming that Manufacturer A purchased one (1) slot and Manufacturer Bpurchased three (3) slots, the switching rotation would be thatManufacturer A would get the switching rights to the first shopping listand Manufacturer B would get the switching rights to the next three (3)shopping lists. The next unprotected item would then rotate back to Aand so on. For example, the pattern would be: A-B-B-B-A-B-B-B and so on,as consumers with shopping lists with unprotected soda occurred in thestore. An individual manufacturer could purchase all 4 slots and havedifferent products or promotion campaigns rotate through the line up,allowing the manufacturer to analyze the effectiveness of the linkageand/or the advertising/promotion.

Each grouping of products is linked to a hierarchy of product categoriesestablished by the retailer. This hierarchy establishes the backbone forproduct protection as well as the offering of alternatives. It alsodrives the offering of paired products as described in the followingsection.

“Virtual Merchandising—Consumption patterns”

“Virtual Merchandising—Consumption patterns” utilizes a customer'snormal buying patterns and frequencies to establish a baseline pattern,compares this expected set of items to those on the customer's shoppinglist, and highlight items that it appears the customer might have missedon the shopping list. A frequency forecast and a forecast based on thefrequency certain products can be purchased together and used toestablish the expected list of products. This expected list is comparedto the actual shopping list and potential missed products are added tothe consumer's list or, in an interactive mode, the consumer is queriedas to whether or not these items should be added to the list. Theseitems would then be put through the above virtual shelf space andvirtual merchandising scenarios as the original list or this could bedone initially and followed by the virtual shelf space and virtualmerchandising scenarios. In either case, the end shopping list should bethe same.

For example, if a customer purchases bacon every time they purchaseseggs, bacon would be offered as a potential missed item if eggs were onthe shopping list and bacon was not. In addition, if Kraft Foodspurchased coupon rights for situations in which bacon is on a shoppinglist and “unprotected” (which all items added in this manner would besince they would be generic rather than brand specific), the couponwould be displayed in this scenario, thereby extending the component of“virtual product protection” that links advertising rights to“unprotected” products. A similar scenario would play out based onfrequency models.

In addition, if a customer purchased a given product on a regular basis,but the current shopping list did not list that product, and thealgorithm did not indicate to add the item, the consumption patternoption is configured to add the items to the shopping list and highlightthem. In one embodiment of the invention, this option can beincorporated with other data and only add items to the shopping list,for example, that are on sale. This option therefore highlights thebuying opportunity for the consumer and even though the item was notselected, further enhances the shopping efficiency of the customer andexpand the advertising reach of the manufacturer in a targeted manner.Using this methodology, a retailer could predict how many times acertain product would either be selected by consumers or flagged toremind consumers, giving merchandisers a much better feel for thepotential market of an add campaign. The retailer could limit the numberof items added to a consumers shopping list to ensure the list did notbecome too cumbersome or cluttered.

“Virtual Merchandising—Product Linkage”

Retailers and manufacturers spend significant amounts of money and timeattempting to physically link compatible products together using productplacement. Product placement leverages the concept that certain productsare linked to other products (e.g. chips and salsa, hot dogs and buns,charcoal and lighter fluid, etc.). Retailers and manufacturers arrangeproducts within the stores to leverage on these purchasingrelationships—typically through the use of side by side shelf display,clip strips and hanging displays, end cap arrangements and floordisplays. Unfortunately, this product placement concept requires movingproduct physically in a selection of test stores, testing the successrate and, if successful, rearranging an entire retail chain of stores.This is an expensive and time consuming process and one that cannot beimplemented and modified quickly.

The concept here is to establish the product placement linkagesvirtually and enable the retailer to sell the rights to such linkages tomanufacturers. This concept is the selling of “virtualmerchandising—product linkages”. Using the customer's shopping list,manufacturer's will have the opportunity to identify given products on aconsumer's shopping list and virtually link their complimentaryproducts, thereby adding these complimentary products to the consumer'sshopping list. These complimentary products can be identified ascomplimentary to product “X” on the shopping list, highlighted for theconsumer as complimentary add-ons, and displayed in the aisle where theyare located. This enables the consumer to purchase the product in anorderly manner while enabling the manufacturer to link and “display” thecomplimentary products together.

A retailer establishes a series of linkages and, if the base product ison a shopper's list, the linked product (this linkage purchased by amanufacturer) is displayed as a possible paired product, including theproduct details (brand, label, and coupon). If accepted, this product isplaced on the shopping list in the aisle that the product is placedwithin the store. This operation places the linked product next to thebase product without actually relocating either product, saving theretailer and the manufacturer money and enabling them to rearrange thestore virtually.

For example, the linked product could be added with a tag line, e.g.“Bachman® Pretzels go great with Beer”. An example of linking productsfollows—if t Frito Lay, Inc. is trying to sell more of its JalapeñoCheese dip (located in aisle 3, for example) by pairing it withTostitos® chips (aisle 6 in this example), Frito Lay, Inc would haveseveral options. It could add a coupon to the Tostitos® chips and hopethe consumer used this on the current or next trip to the store, itcould move the dip to aisle 6, or (using virtual merchandising) it couldadd a tag line and/or a coupon to the grocery list of consumers thatwere replenishing Tostitos® chips (e.g. “Jalapeño Cheese dip goes greatwith Tostitos® chips”and a $0.50 off Jalapeño Dip with the purchase ofTostitos). The Jalapeño Cheese dip suggestion and coupon would displaywith the rest of the items found in aisle 3. In essence, the manufacturewould have virtually moved the cheese dip next to the Tostitos® chipsand displayed the coupon next to the cheese dip. An option in theinteractive mode would be to prompt the consumer and the consumer wouldaccept or reject the suggested product (Jalapeño Cheese dip in thiscase). This is a very targeted linkage of products, one whichmanufacturers utilize regularly, especially with the introduction of newproducts.

Another example, using the auto generation of a list application,follows. If Skippy® Peanut Butter purchased the rights to link itspeanut butter to ALL brands of jelly, Skippy® Peanut Butter would beadded to the list, along with the Skippy® brand (if purchased) and anyincentive schemes Skippy® wished to display (e.g. 25¢ off a 20 oz jar)each time a consumer purchased jelly. This is a broader application ofthe Frito Lay® scenario.

A virtually endless selection of combinations could be derived and sold.Retailers could also put limiters in the program to ensure that acustomer's list did not grow to be unmanageable by adding too manyalternatives. The retailer could also apply a ranking algorithm similarto that discussed above to “arbitrate” when more than one manufacturerwanted to link to a base product (e.g. if both Skippy® and Jif® wantedthe jelly link), although these are minor alterations/tailoring of thebasic concept of “virtual merchandising—product linkages”.

A ranking algorithm can also be used for product linkages. Such aranking algorithm is similar to the ranking algorithm used for switchingalternatives. The ranking algorithm used in this application can also bebased upon occurrence slots, for example, as defined above. In thisapplication, the linkage of product A to a matching product could besold to multiple manufacturers by selling “occurrence slots”, as definedabove. For example, a store could sell four (4) “occurrence slots” tolink beer to snack foods. If the four (4) occurrence slots were boughtby four (4) different product manufacturers, each manufacturer wouldtake its turn in the occurrence rotation, in a similar manner asdiscussed above. Alternatively, an individual manufacture could purchaseall four (4) slots and have different products or promotion campaignsrotate through the line up, allowing the manufacturer to analyze theeffectiveness of the linkage and/or the advertising/promotion.

All of the above virtual merchandising concepts are true point ofpurchase advertising as the consumer has indicated that he/she desiresto purchase a given product and this product is either “protected” oralternatives are provided. There is no random pop-up concept or massmarketing.

Each of these virtual merchandising applications would (1) be anenhancement for the customer, (2) drive higher revenue for the store byensuring potential items were not missed, and (3) represent point ofpurchase marketing opportunities that could be purchased bymanufacturers to enhance their sales.

Information Capture

Unlike the information that is available today, the information thatwould be captured using this process links the exact items consumed (ascollected during the scanning process and preparation of the consumer'sshopping list) and the end products purchased. In other words,manufacturers know both the behavioral outcome as well as the specificconsumption activities immediately prior to the activity (or lackthereof) they are trying to drive. The exact effectiveness of thesemarketing strategies would be available, unlike the “rough estimates”that are associated with existing marketing and merchandising effortstoday. This is because the items consumed and desired to be replaced arenot known in any application today. In order to attempt to obtain thisinformation, manufactures spend millions hiring firms that conduct exitinterviews with consumers. These exit interviews, while being expensiveand incomplete, are the best proxy manufactures have for the informationthat could be

Various different types of scanners can be used for scanning thebarcode. There is a wireless portable scanner, a portable batch scanner,and a fixed scanner. The wireless portable scanner is ideal for remotelocations or when one needs the information right away (1). Theinformation for this scanner is uploaded very quickly and accuratelywhen scanning something. The negative aspect of a wireless scanner isthat it needs to be connected through a wireless network which requiresmore cost and technical know-how. The portable batch scanner is abattery operated scanner that uploads that data at a different time fromwhen it is scanned. This is an ideal scanner if mobility is the numberone priority, like in a factory or an individual's kitchen/home. A fixedscanner is attached to a computer through a cable and is transmitted asif it were being typed into the computer from a keyboard (1). This wouldnot be the best type for in the kitchen of an everyday home. Thewireless portable scanner would probably be the best scanner to use in alarge scale, industrial application because of its mobility and quickresponse, while the portable batch scanner, with its mobility and lowercost/infrastructure, would be the best hardware for a consumerapplication. Most scanners come with a cable to attach to the computer.

Scanners get the information off of a barcode by waving a strip of redlight in front of the barcode. What the scanner does not see is that thelight source absorbs the difference between the black and white spaces.This information is converted into an electrical signal. The lightsource starts out scanning a white space, which is called the quietzones, and then continues to move along to the last bar. The lightsource keeps passing over the barcode until it reaches the white sourceon the other side of the barcode. Different heights for the barcode arechosen to make it easier for the scanner to be able to read it. If thereis more information to be encoded, then the barcode is longer, and whenthe length of the barcode is increased, so are the height and spaces ofthe barcode.

The type of barcode that is mandatory for all supermarkets is a UPC/EANbarcode (3). UPC barcodes are set at a fixed length and are usually onlyused in the grocery department. They were designed just for thesupermarket because that type of barcode fits the twelve digits that areneeded for the groceries. There are also other types of barcodes, suchas Code 39, Code 128, Postnet, and PDF417 but those types are not usedin the grocery store industry (2).

Software Flow Charts

FIGS. 5A-5H illustrate the logic flow of the process in accordance withthe present invention. FIGS. 6-9 illustrate exemplary flow charts forthe invention. Referring first to FIG. 5A, this figure is an exemplarytop level diagram for the present invention. It is to be understood thatFIG. 5A is for illustration purposes and illustrates an embodiment inwhich all virtual merchandising options are incorporated. It is to beunderstood that the present invention may be implemented with one ormore of the virtual merchandising options. The order in which the logicis implemented within the flow chart can be modified and, in manyscenarios, achieve the same end result. As such, the order of the logicis not of critical importance.

The shopper scans in the bar codes for grocery items, for example, thathave been consumed and forms an initial shopping list, for example, asillustrated in FIG. 1. In accordance with an important aspect of theinvention, the system, generally identified with the reference numeral20, processes the initial shopping list, as discussed below. Theprocessing may include one or more virtual merchandising options, asillustrated in FIG. 5A, implemented, for example, as software modulesrelating to virtual merchandising options, such as, consumption patterns22, product protection 24, product linkage 26, product switchingincentives 28 and product brand display 30.

For each item on the initial shopping list, the system 20 may initiallydetermine the consumption pattern 22 for the item in step 34 andillustrated in more detail in FIG. 6. After the consumption patterns 22are determined, the system 20 checks for duplicate items in step 36(FIG. 5A) and adds any missing items to the initial shopping list basedupon the consumption pattern in steps 38 and exits the consumptionpattern module 22 in step 40 and may indicate the missing items on theshopping list under a heading “You Forgot”, as indicated in step 42, oridentified as “Possibly missed”, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 10for the bacon.

The system 20 checks each item on the initial shopping list, asindicated in step 57. After the initial shopping list is created by theconsumer and optionally enhanced by the system 20 based upon consumptionpatterns, as discussed above, the system 20 obtained if this applicationwas implemented and the data collected. The retailers and manufacturerswould be able to utilize the results associated with various marketingand merchandising strategies to measure the effectiveness of eachstrategy. For example, the Coca Cola® Bottling Company could measure theeffectiveness of its protection strategy with and without coupons orwith coupons at various discount price points.

Technology/ideas:

Following is a listing of known technology that may be associated withdelivering the above concept to market.

-   -   1. Bar code/UPC/SKU information.    -   2. Bar code/UPC/SKU information capture technology (e.g.        scanners) would be used to generate the initial shopping list        and would capture the necessary item information, including        product description, at the manufacturer level.    -   3. Retailer master files.    -   4. Store specific store product layout files containing aisle,        section, UPC, SKU and other information and maintained by the        retailer. Companies that take inventory today can capture the        location within the store (e.g. aisle, department, and shelf) of        each item through a mapping exercise which results in a database        of store level product locations.        Bar Code Scanners

The invention is amenable to being implemented with various types ofscanners which are well known in the art. Such bar code scanners usuallyconsist of three parts; a scanner, a decoder, and a cable that connectsthe scanner to a computer (1). FIG. 1 illustrates how the scanner readsthe spaces and bars making up the barcode and provides an electricaloutput to a computer. The decoder decodes the spaces and the bars andcorrelates the bar code with an item from a list in a database. Bar codescanners are described athttp://www.barcode.com/learning_center/how_do_scanners_work.shtml,hereby incorporated by reference. may then check whether the item on thelist contains a manufacturer's specific UPC code in step 59. If so, thesystem 20 may then check if the manufacturer purchased the rights toother virtual merchandising options for that item on the list associatedwith the UPC code in step 61.

If product protection 24 has been purchased, the system 20 runs throughthe logic to assess what has been purchased by the manufacturer and,where applicable, adds the complete product details (step 63), the brandlogo (step 65), and any incentives, e.g. coupons, sales, banners (step67) for the item on the list and optionally provides an aisle assignmentin step 69.

The system 20 also checks for product linkage 26, as indicated in step54. For each item on the list. Product linkage 26 relates to, forexample, items that appear on the shopping list that may be linked toother items that do not appear on the shopping list. Examples of suchlinkages are as described above. As such, each item on the shopping listis checked whether product linkage 26 has been purchased by themanufacturer of the item on the list in step 56. If product linkage 26has not been purchased by the manufacturer, as determined in step 56,the system 20 looks up any known unprotected potential linked items instep 60 and adds those unprotected items to a product link list in step62, assuming it is not a duplicate, as determined in step 64. The system20 then proceeds to the next item on the list, as illustrated in step 71and returns to step 54 until all items on the initial shopping list havebeen analyzed.

If the system 20 determines in step 56 that product linkage protection26 has been purchased for the item, the system 20 looks up the item on aproduct link list in step 58. Next, in step 64, the system 20 checks ifthe linked product is already on the product link list. If so, thesystem 20 does not add the item to the grocery list. If the item is nota duplicate, the item is added to the grocery list. For each linked itemin the product link list for which product linkage has been purchased bythe manufacturer, as indicated in step 71, the system 20 checks in step73 whether other types of virtual merchandising has been purchased forthe linked item, such as, i.e brand displays 30, incentives, and whetherany occurrence slots, have been purchased for the linked items.

After the portion of the grocery list that had protection purchased hasbeen processed for linkages, the final version of the grocery list iscreated for those products that had a UPC and had protection purchased(steps 59 and 61, respectively), as indicated by the dotted block 73. Inthe completed grocery list, each item in the list has been evaluated forand is listed with one or more virtual merchandising options including:complete product details; brand display; and incentives, such as couponsor ads. As will be discussed in more detail below, if more than onemanufacture has purchased switching incentives for the same item, thehighest ranked manufacturer's information (coupon, banner, incentive) isdisplayed. A manufacturer's rank may be based upon several factorsincluding the amount of money that the manufacturer paid for this rightand/or the point in the rotation the consumer represents. Also, thegrocery list may optionally include an aisle assignment for each item onthe list.

If it is determined that a manufacturer's specific UPC code is notassociated with an item on the list or product protection has not beenpurchased for and item on the list (steps 59 and 61, respectively), theitem is processed with generic product details, as indicated by theblock 75. The system 20 next checks if switching incentives 28 have beenpurchased in step 77. If not, an aisle assignment may optionally beassociated with the item, as indicated by the block 79. The system 20then proceeds to the next item on the list.

If switching incentives 28 have been purchased, as determined in step77, the system 20 looks up whether there are any incentives associatedwith the item covered by switching incentives 28 option, as indicated bythe block 81 and associates the switched item with the item on thegrocery list and incorporates an incentive, i.e coupon, saleinformation, in step 83, after it is determined that the switched itemis not a duplicate in step 64. In step 85, the system 20 adds completeproduct details for the switched item. The system 20 also checks in step85 whether virtual merchandising has been purchased for the switcheditem. If so, the system 20 adds, where appropriate, the virtualmerchandising options purchased by the manufacturer for the switcheditem, such as, adding a brand display 30 for the switched item; addingincentives and checking the manufacturer's rank with respect to theswitched item, by checking whether and how many occurrence slots havebeen purchased by the manufacturer. As discussed above, if the rankoption has been purchased by any of the manufacturers', the switchedproducts associated with items on the list are associated with amanufacturers' product according to rank, as discussed above.

Next, the system 20 creates a shopping list 85 that incorporates one ormore of the virtual merchandising options, as discussed above. Moreparticularly, the two sets of products—(i) those with UPCs and productprotection plus any products added through linkages and (ii) thosewithout UPCs or without product protection are combined and processed.For embodiments which incorporate the product location, the aisle isassociated with each item on the list and the list can be sorted inaisle order, as illustrated in step 109. The list is then formatted instep 111 and printed or sent to another type of interface (e.g. a mobileterminal, a blackberry, etc) in step 113.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart illustrating the brand display virtualmerchandising option 30. For each item on the list, the system 20 simplychecks whether the brand display merchandising option has been purchasedin step 87. If so, the manufacturer's brand logo is associated with thatitem on the shopping list in step 89. If not, generic information isassociated with that particular item on the list.

FIG. 5C is a flow chart illustrating the logic necessary to evaluatewhether a manufacturer has purchased rights for rank, as discussedabove. For example, a manufacturer's rank may be associated with theproduct switching virtual merchandising option 28. In particular, whenthere are multiple manufacturers' products available for switchedproducts, the manufacturer which purchased a rank option prevails, asdiscussed above. In particular, for each item determines whether therank option has been purchased by any manufacturer in step 91. If so,that manufacturer's product is associated with the switched item in step93. If no manufacturer purchased the rank option all manufacturers'products for manufacture's that purchased the switching incentivevirtual merchandising option will be associated with the switched itemin the list.

FIG. 5D is a flow chart illustrating the brand incentive virtualmerchandising option. For each item on the list, the system 20 checkswhether any manufacturer has purchased a brand incentive virtualmerchandising option. As discussed above, this option relates to theright of a manufacturer to have coupons or ads associated withparticular items on the shopping list. For each item on the list, thesystem 20 checks whether any manufacturer. If so, the manufacturer'sincentive, e.g., coupon or ad is associated with the shopping list instep 97, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 14, 15 and 17.

FIG. 5E is a flow chart for displaying generic product details. Thesegeneric product details are the product details associated with the UPCcode scanned by the consumer to create the initial shopping list. Theseproduct details are available as part of a master data base that wouldbe compiled. An exemplary record layout and fields is illustrated inFIG. 4. These product details are linked to those items scanned by theconsumer through the unique UPC.

FIG. 5F is a flow chart for displaying complete product details ofscanned items by the consumer. The complete product details include theproduct details, for example, description of the item and the brand logoassociated with the item for items for which manufacturers havepurchased the product protection virtual merchandising option 24. Foritems for which the product protection option has been purchased, acomplete product description including the brand logo is associated withthat item on the shopping list in step 101.

FIG. 5G is a flow chart illustrating the aisle assignment of an item onthe shopping list. For embodiments which include this option, an aislelocation is associated with each item on the grocery list in step 103.

FIG. 5H is a flow chart for a duplicate item filter that checks forduplicate items on the shopping list. The duplicate item filter 64checks for duplicate items in step 105. As indicated by the block 107,duplicate items are excluded from the list. Any item that is not aduplicate continues to be processed.

Referring to FIG. 6, the logic for consumption pattern virtualmerchandising option 22 is illustrated in detail. As mentioned above,the consumer or shopper scans the containers (UPCs) of consumed groceryitems and downloads this data to the system 20 by either an in-storeterminal or a web application, as discussed above, to form an initialshopping list, as generally indicated by the block 44. Every time aconsumer creates an initial shopping list by scanning the packages ofused items, those items are stored in a product consumption database,for example, and used to develop a consumer's historical shoppingpattern. The historical shopping pattern could be implemented in severalways. For example, a periodic purchasing pattern could be developed. Inparticular, if a consumer purchased a particular food item on a fairlyregular basis, and was not listed on a shopping list for somepredetermined time, the item would be added to a shopping list as apossible missed item. For example, if a consumer added eggs to theirshopping list on a weekly basis, eggs would be added to a consumer'sshopping list if eggs were left off the list on a particular week.

In step 46, the system 20 thus compares each item on the initialshopping list with a product consumption database to determine if anyitems in the consumer's product consumption pattern have been left offthe list. The product consumption database is compiled for each customerbased upon consumption patterns over a period of time. Items areidentified as “missed items” in step 48 and combined with the initialshopping list in step 50 to create a revised shopping list, asidentified by the block 52.

The product protection module 24 is illustrated in FIG. 7. As discussedabove, product protection refers to a concept in which the manufacturerpurchases the right to prevent other manufacturers from displaying anyincentives, i.e. coupons, or brand logos that might provide incentive toa consumer to purchase an alternate brand for an item on the list.Referring first to FIG. 6, once a revised product or shopping list iscreated, as indicated by the block 52, the system 20 checks in step 66for a manufacturer's specific uniform product code (UPC) for the itemson the revised shopping list. If not, as indicated by the block 51, thesystem 20 proceeds to step 68 (FIG. 7) to check whether the manufacturerpurchased product protection, as discussed above. If the system 20determines in step 66 (FIG. 6) that a manufacturer specific UPC code isassociated with a product on the list, as indicated by the block 72, thesystem 20 proceeds directly to step 70 (FIG. 7) to determine if anymanufacturer purchased a switching option for the item on the list.Alternatively, if it is determined in step 68, that the manufacturerassociated with the manufacturer specific UPC code did not purchase aswitching option for the item on the list, as indicated by the block 74,the system 20 also proceeds to step 70 and checks if any manufacturerpurchased a switching option for the item on the list. If not, asindicated by the block 75, the system 20 proceeds to step 76 todetermine if all items on the shopping list have been checked. If atleast one manufacturer has purchased a product switching option, asindicated by the block 78, the system 20 proceeds to step 80. If thereis only one manufacturer that has purchased a switching option for thatproduct, that manufacture's coupon or other incentive is added to theshopping list, as indicated by the block 82.

If it is determined in step 68 that the manufacturer associated with themanufacturer's UPC code purchased, indicated by the block 86, themanufacturer's product description is displayed on the shopping listinstead of the generic description, as indicated by the block 88. Nextin step 90, the system 20 checks whether protected manufacturerpurchased the right to display their logo on the shopping list. If so,as indicated by the block 92, the system 20 displays the logo, asindicated by the block 94. Next in step 96, the system 20 checks whetherthe manufacturer purchased the right to display ads. If so, as indicatedby the block 98, the system 20 categorizes the manufacturer as aprotected manufacturer in step 100 and proceeds to step 82 and adds themanufacturer's coupon to the shopping list if it is determined in step96 that the manufacturer did not purchase the right to display ads, asindicated by the block 97, the system 20 proceeds to step 76 todetermine if the item processed was the last item on the grocery list.If it is determined in step 90 that the manufacturer did not purchasethe right to add its logo to the grocery list, as indicated by the block102, the system 20 proceeds directly to step 96 to determine if themanufacturer purchased the right to display ads, as discussed above.

As mentioned above, the system 20 checks in step 76 (FIG. 7) whether allitems on the list have been processed. If so, as indicated by the block104, the system 20 proceeds to step 56 (FIG. 5A) and checks each item onthe list for linkage products, as discussed above. If the last itemchecked was not the last item on the list, as indicated by the block 106(FIG. 7), the system 20 returns to step 66 (FIG. 6) and, if a UPC isassociated with the item, repeats steps 68-100 (FIG. 7) for the nextitem on the list.

The product linkage virtual merchandising option 26 is illustrated indetail in FIG. 8. Referring to FIG. 8, the system 20 checks in step 115whether there is a product linkage for an item on the list. If not, asindicated by the block 117, the system 20 checks the next item in step119 until all items on the list have been checked. If a linkage productexists for an item on the list, as indicated by the block 121, thesystem 20 next checks in step 123 whether the linkage product is alreadyon the list. If so, as indicated by the block 124, the system 20proceeds to the next item on the list. If the linkage product is not onthe list, 127. Steps 115-127 are repeated until each item on the initialshopping list has been checked for possible product linkages, asindicated in step 129. If all items on the initial shopping list havenot been checked for possible product linkages, as indicated by theblock 131, the system 20 checks the next item on the list, as indicatedby the block 133. If all items on the list have checked for productlinkages, as indicated by the block 135, the system 20, as indicated instep 137, the system proceeds to step 140 (FIG. 9) and assigns an aisleand section to each item on the list, as discussed below.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart which illustrates the process for assigningaisles to items on the shopping lists. For implementation of thisembodiment of the invention, the store for which the shopping list isbeing created needs to have a database which not only provides currentinventory but also the aisle and optionally section assignments of allitems in the inventory. Referring to FIG. 9, for each item on theshopping list, the system 20 accesses the database mentioned above andassociates an aisle and optional section with each item, as indicated bystep 140. In order to facilitate the shopping experience, the system 20sorts the shopping list by aisle and optional section order. In step 142and upon demand prints a final grocery list in step 144.

Exemplary Grocery List

FIG. 10A illustrates an exemplary shopping list which illustratesvarious virtual merchandising options in accordance with the presentinvention. FIG. 10B is a table explaining how each virtual merchandisingoption in the shopping list illustrated in FIG. 10A would have beengenerated through the process in accordance with the present invention.The shopping list may be a physical list, printed on paper or anelectronic list, available on a PDA, cell phone, tablet PC or otherelectronic display media.

Turning to FIG. 10A, the exemplary shopping list, generally identifiedwith the reference numeral 146, may include the exemplary fieldsillustrated. In particular, the exemplary shopping list 146 may includea location field 148 which identifies the aisle in the store and otherlocation information for each item on the shopping list 146. Theshopping list 146 also includes an item field 150. The item field 150 isused to list the item, either generic or by brand name, depending onwhether the manufacturer of the item purchased the brand rights asdiscussed above. A field 152 may be used for brand logos for items forwhich the manufacturer of the item purchased those rights. Another field154 may be used to display incentives for items in which themanufacturer purchased incentive rights, as discussed above. A commentfield 156 may be included to identify linked and missed items, forexample.

Web Embodiment—Non Interactive

The function of the in-store terminal can also be replicated in aweb-based embodiment. The process is illustrated in FIG. 1, although theterminal is remote and the master databases (e.g. store layout, productinfo, etc.) is accessed remotely. In this embodiment, a prospectivecustomer simply registers on-line for the service with their store ofchoice. All of the processing mentioned above is done by a remoteserver, which not only processes the shopping list but may also downloada client application onto the consumer's personal computer (PC) forstoring scanned items until such time the consumer wishes to obtain ashopping list. More particularly, as discussed above, the consumer willscan consumed items by way of a bar code scanner, as discussed above.The bar code data for these scanned items is stored on consumer's PC byway of the client application. When the consumer wants to compose ashopping list, the consumer logs onto the remote server and uploads thebar code data. The remote server associates each item of bar code datawith an item, such as a food item and assembles a basic shopping list.This processing is exactly the same as would be done in the in-storeapplication and is illustrated in FIGS. 5A-H and FIGS. 6-9. For eachitem on the list, the system 20 checks whether items have been missedand whether any virtual merchandising rights have been purchased, asdiscussed above, to create an enhanced shopping list, for example, asillustrated in FIG. 10A.

Interactive Shopping Experience

The generation of the consumer's shopping list could also be done in amore interactive manner, obtaining consumer input during the generationof the list rather than simply generating an enhanced shopping list thatthe consumer then uses throughout the store. This type of embodiment maybe a web-based application given the constraints of time associated within-store processing (e.g. a consumer is more likely to spend time athome in front of the computer rather than standing in a store) as wellas the hardware costs that an in-store interactive experience wouldrequire (retailers would need significantly more terminals in store toavoid lines associated with the time an interactive process would take).The screen layouts (aka web pages), illustrated in FIGS. 11-18 areexemplary.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary initial screen that is generated by theremote server after the shopping list 158 has been compiled, asdiscussed above. Each web page may include a button, generallyidentified with the reference numeral 160 that allows the consumer tocontinue to the next page.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary next page which allows the consumer tocreate a personal profile with respect to the shopping list. As shown,various display choices may be selected for a single shopping list oradded to the consumers personal profile. A consumer would only have toestablish this profile once, as this information would then be retainedin the central database as being specific to each customer.

FIG. 13 illustrates a web page which illustrates a manufacturer'sincentive for oatmeal. In this example, the consumer needs to replaceoatmeal. The brand was not protected and, since, in this example,McCann's purchased switching incentives, McCann's is displayed as aswitching option. If the consumer checks the check box 162 for thecoupon, the coupon is printed (or electronically added to the shoppinglist) and the manufacturers brand logo is printed (or displayed) next tothe oatmeal, as shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 14 also illustrates a similarscenario for diet cola and a check box 164. If the check box 164 isselected, the brand logo is inserted next to the item on the shoppinglist 165, as illustrated in FIG. 15. For both of these items, the couponinformation is added to the final shopping list, as illustrated in FIG.16.

FIG. 15 illustrates two (2) examples of incentives. The first examplerelates to Lays® potato chips. In this example, potato chips are listedon the shopping list, such items having been consumed and themanufacturer of the consumed product having not purchased productprotection. As such, potato chips are added to the list as a genericitem, it does not have product protection, as discussed above. Using thelogic in FIG. 7, the system 20 can offer an incentive from amanufacturer which purchased switching incentives, as discussed above.In this case, the company offers an incentive by offering $1.00 off a 20ounce bag. If the consumer checks the check box next to the Lays®incentive, the brand logo for Lays® will be inserted next to the listingfor “potato chips” on the shopping list and the coupon notation will beadded to the shopping list as illustrated in FIG. 16.

The other type of incentive illustrated in FIG. 15 is for an item not onthe shopping list, but one that is linked to an item that is on thelist, an example of virtual merchandising. That item is Smuckers®preserves which, in this example, has been linked to peanut butter. Thisexample illustrates a situation in which the manufacturer purchased avirtual merchandising and, together with the right to display a coupon,purchased the brand display option as well, as discussed above. If theconsumer checks the check box next to the Smuckers® incentive,Smuckers®, together with the brand logo for Smuckers® will be added tothe shopping list and the coupon notation will be added to the shoppinglist as illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary web page with a completed shopping listand also includes a drop down menu 166, which provides various optionsfor the consumer to select and skip to, such as providing a completecoupon list, listing possible missed items, placing deli orders, goingto the store categories section to add items and displaying the consumerprofile.

The completed shopping list is displayed for example, as illustrated inFIGS. 10A and 16 and a “Print List” button 168 (FIG. 16) may be providedso that a printed copy of the grocery list can be provided. As shown,each web page may be provided with a Print list button that enables theconsumer to print the list at any stage of the complete process. Inaddition, each web page as shown may be provided with a “Go To” buttonthat allows the consumer to jump to various sections of the interactivesession.

FIG. 17 illustrates the web page that, as shown, represents all of thevarious items available in the store, grouped by category, to enable theconsumer to take a virtual shopping tour of all of the items availablein the store. In order to add items to the shopping list, a user simplyselects a category (FIG. 17) and the system 20 displays, either as aseparate page or as a “drop down” list, as illustrated in FIG. 18, allavailable “generic” items in that category, as exemplified for theselection of “dairy”. A user then simply checks the item listed under aparticular category to add that item to the shopping list. After thisselection process, the system 20 logic could run through the variousscenarios on these new, generic items that the consumer added to thelist, displaying switching alternatives and pairing options for theconsumer to select from.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. Thus, it is to beunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described above.

We claim:
 1. An electronic merchandising system that enables merchantsto acquire virtual merchandising options which automatically populate aconsumer's electronic shopping list, the electronic merchandising systemcomprising: a memory; and a computer system programmed to; store data insaid memory relating to items available for retail purchase by aconsumer; store merchandising options in said memory; enable merchantsto acquire at least one merchandising option for items available forretail purchase by a consumer, wherein said merchandising optionsinclude automatically switching a branded item on the shopping listselected by the consumer for which a merchandising option has not beenpurchased defining an unsponsored item with a generic equivalent for theunsponsored item and associating incentives to purchase an item forwhich a merchandising option has been purchased defining a sponsoreditem; storing said acquired merchandising options in said memory;generate a list of said items stored in memory selected by a consumerand generate an electronic shopping list of items selected by theconsumer; and automatically switching the unsponsored items on theshopping list selected by a consumer with a generic equivalent andassociating incentives for a sponsored item as a function of saidacquired merchandising options; and generate a list of items on saidshopping list as modified defining a modified shopping list that isstored in said memory.
 2. The electronic merchandising system as recitedin claim 1, wherein said at least one virtual merchandising optionincludes product linkage which causes additional products to bedisplayed that are linked to a product selected by a consumer.
 3. Theelectronic merchandising system as recited in claim 1, wherein saidmerchandising option causes additional products to be displayed thatwere not selected by a consumer based upon previous consumer consumptionpatterns.
 4. The electronic merchandising system as recited in claim 1,wherein said memory is portable.
 5. The electronic merchandising systemas recited in claim 1, wherein said system is web based.
 6. Theelectronic merchandising system as recited in claim 1, wherein saidsystem is configured to generate an electronic shopping list on anelectronic display.
 7. The electronic merchandising system as recited inclaim 6, further including a scanner that is configured to scan and readbar codes and said system is configured to receive bar code data fromsaid electronic display media and generate an electronic shopping liston said electronic display media based at least in part upon productscorresponding to said scanned bar codes.
 8. The electronic merchandisingsystem as recited in claim 6, wherein said electronic display comprisesa cell phone.
 9. The electronic merchandising system as recited in claim6, wherein said electronic display comprises a tablet PC.
 10. Theelectronic merchandising system as recited in claim 6, wherein saidelectronic display comprises a PDA.
 11. The electronic merchandisingsystem as recited in claim 1, wherein said memory includes a centraldatabase for storing product information.
 12. The electronicmerchandising system as recited in claim 11, wherein said systemincludes a wireless scanner for scanning product bar codes andwirelessly transmitting said product bar code data to said centraldatabase.
 13. The electronic merchandising system as recited in claim11, wherein said wireless scanner is configured to scan bar codes andwirelessly transmit said bar codes to said electronic merchandisingsystem.
 14. The electronic merchandising system as recited in claim 1,wherein said computer is programmed to enable the modified shopping listto be printed.